


Buzzfeed Unsolved, but Gayer

by reaping_mae



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: (he's only in it a little bit, 4am McDonald's trips, Autumn, Buzzfeed Unsolved Supernatural, Comfort, Ghost Hunters, Jeremy is scared shitless, M/M, Michael is a Little Shit, Mutual Pining, NyQuil, Paranormal Investigator Richard Goranski, Pining, Totems, airport/airplane anxiety, based on the Sallie house vid!, basically Jeremy is kinda sick but they have no clue what it is, bfu, but he's also still a HUGE bean, buzzfeed unsolved au, dialogue based and taken from the episode only during the actual ghost hunting part, ghost au, it is very boyfs centered), sickfic (kind of? not really)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-15 07:36:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21249770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reaping_mae/pseuds/reaping_mae
Summary: The Ghoul Boys, but Gayer.An airport, a trip to the farmers market, an encounter with some wack-ass dude selling totems, and McDonald's at 4am. Throw a little spoopy demon action in there and you got yourself the recipe for Boyf Riends as Buzzfeed Unsolved.





	Buzzfeed Unsolved, but Gayer

**Author's Note:**

> Something I am SO HAPPY to finally finish and to be able to post this, on HALLOWEEN no less!  
I originally wrote this as a trade with my friend.. so I got to see her (amazing) unfinished projects if I wrote a oneshot, which, I AM SO PSYCHED THAT THIS WAS THE TRADE!! I've been wanting to write a bfu au for awhile now, and this gave me the reason to do it! Just know that when it gets to the actual ghost hunting part (and a teency bit afterwards but only a few lines of dialogue,) the dialogue is taken/based on the episode (3 Terrifying Cases of Ghosts and Demons), so sorry if it feels a bit choppy.  
Oh well, I tried ;p  
This is like,, my fifth attempt at uploading this, but grammarly decided to be a lil bitch and keEP CRASHING AO3 SLOERUIGHOLIER lol but yeah- sorry its posted so late!  
Enjoy!

“Michael, you are literally going to get us pulled aside.”

“Psh. It’s fine. It only says to take our computers out of the bag. Nothing about cameras.”

“They’ll think it’s, like, a bomb or something!” Jeremy’s voice cracked, and he suddenly realized that he should probably lower his voice when saying ‘bomb’ in a public place. 

“So paranoid.” Michael tsk’d, “What’re they gonna do? Arrest me for having an EMF detector at the airport? _ OooOoohhHh nOOooo the scary ghosts are here to cause a public disturbance!” _He put his shoes on the conveyor belt, then got ushered through the metal detector by security. 

Jeremy sighed and put his shoes onto the belt as well, following Michael through the detector. The two waited for their bags to pop out of the security check, Jeremy rocking on his heels as he prayed to any existence that Michael’s bag wouldn’t get pulled aside, especially since their flight would leave in fifteen minutes. “TSA is a pain,” Jeremy groaned, leaning his head on Michael’s shoulder. 

“Yeah.” Michael hummed and brushed a piece of Jeremy’s hair back, clearing his face. “Oh! See, I told you I wouldn’t get pulled aside!” He reached for his approaching bag. 

“Thank god.” Jeremy sighed, grabbing his pair of shoes and laptop that had just popped out of the detector. _ All I need now is my bag… _

“Who’s bag?” A bored-looking TSA employee held up Jeremy’s blue Jansport backpack. 

Michael immediately snorted. 

“Mine-“

“I'm going to have to hand check it. Stand here, please.” She led him to the side of a counter where she started digging through Jeremy’s bag with a stick. Michael stayed back where they were initially standing, laughing at the fact that out of all of Jeremy’s worrying about Michael’s bag getting checked, it was Jeremy’s instead. Jeremy watched from his peripheral as Michael took out his phone camera and started filming Jeremy. 

The woman pulled out a bottle of unmarked water, and Michael started laughing even harder. Jeremy’s cheeks reddened. “You realize you cannot bring and fluid- including water- over 3 ounces on board, sir? I’m afraid I'm going to have to take this.”

“But-“

“Sorry.” She shrugged and handed Jeremy his bag. Sighing in defeat, Jeremy took his bag and slid his computer in it, slinging it over his shoulder and sliding his wallet into his pocket. 

“You actually brought holy water-“ Michael mock wiped at his eyes. 

“Don’t,” Jeremy grumbled and ducked his head in embarrassment, marching off into the busy airport.

“Awwww, don’t be Mr. Grumpy!” Michael chased after him. Soon, they both disappeared in the crowd. 

* * *

Michael scanned the flight time boards, searching for their flight. Jeremy thought he saw it a couple of times until he realized that it was a different flight number or airline. 

“Oh! Here it is- wait, no, this is the wrong time?” Jeremy glanced from his boarding pass to the screen, double-checking the flight number. 

“You probably read the wrong one again-“

“No, it’s the right one. It says it’s… _ oh my god, we rushed for literally no reason. _” Jeremy whined.

“Huh?”

“Mikey, our flight is delayed.” 

“That’s ok! We can get food or something. Let’s just get to our gate and wait there.”

“But-“

“C’mon.” Michael laughed. 

“Why is everyone cutting me off toda-“

“Shush. Less talking more walking.” In a split-second decision, Michael slid his hand into Jeremy’s and started weaving their way around groups of people crowding the walkways. He realized how awkward it felt to be holding Jeremy’s hand, but it was too late and would be even more awkward to let go now. _ Just play it off _. 

** **

A few minutes later, the boys found themselves by their gate waiting for updates on their flight and sharing a sandwich. Michael insisted that they would need more airport content to really ‘make it a fun little vlog!’ while Jeremy kept telling him that, ‘no, if anything we gotta explain why we are even _ at _ the airport.’

“Jeez Jere, loosen up a little.” Michael rubbed Jeremy’s back. 

“Sorry, it’s just- you know I get anxiety over flying.” He shrugged, taking another bite of his sandwich. 

“I know. What can I do to help? Buy ya a martini or something? Take you out to dinner?” Michael joked. _ Not that I wouldn’t mind or anything… _

Jeremy’s face turned pink once again, and he suddenly was invested in whatever was happening on his phone, stuffing more of his sandwich in his mouth. 

Michael started filming himself and Jeremy, explaining why they were at the airport. 

* * *

“Hey, how many conspiracists do you think follow us on twitter?” Jeremy asked, pushing his way through the narrow aisle of the plane and scanning for their seats. 

“I dunno… a lot, probably. Why?” Michael followed Jeremy, helping look for their seats. 

“What if I just like, took a picture of the plane window before we take off and post it, and then say nothing?” Jeremy snorted. The sandwich helped calm his nerves, so he now was just trying to preoccupy himself with random stuff to get his mind off of the takeoff. 

It was working, at least. 

Sorta. 

“That would be amazing, not gonna lie.”

“Yesss ok I’ll do it then. Wait- who’s getting the window seat?” Jeremy’s eyes widened. If they weren’t placed next to a window seat, he didn’t know how well he would do on the flight. Granted, it’s only two hours and thirty minutes from New Jersey to Kansas, but it doesn’t mean he _ won't _freak out just because it’s a short flight. 

“Our seats are in just a couple rows- you can take the window if you want. I made sure we got it.” Michael smiled placed a hand on Jeremy’s shoulder, still directly behind him because of the narrow walkway. 

Jeremy let out a sigh of relief. “Ugh, I love you.” 

Michael froze, and a couple of moments passed until Jeremy realized what he said in his blind relief. 

They stayed like this for a few moments until some old guy behind them started yelling at them to “Move or I’ll push ya outta the way myself!” 

They sat down in their respective seats, neither completely acknowledging each other; Michael scrolled through movies on his seat’s mini TV while Jeremy snapped a photo of the plane window and posting it on twitter. “Teenage girls on snapchat just got upped.” Jeremy joked upon seeing his picture of the window, but Michael already had his headphones plugged into the seat. 

Jeremy studied Michael’s face for a bit, trying to read him as he could a book. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), he instead was distracted by his face. His jawline, his neck. The way his nose curved and rounded at the tip, how his cheeks caught the sun‘s light that was streaming through the window. How Michael’s chest rose slowly and in time with his breathing, his hoodie rising and falling with the pattern. How Michael’s eyes looked like pools of honey, drawing Jeremy in and making him never want to look away. 

Suddenly, the plane started moving, and Jeremy realized that he must’ve missed the pilot’s announcement because the plane was suddenly picking up speed, and so was Jeremy’s breathing. Michael looked over and made eye contact with him, sliding his hand back into Jeremy’s and lacing their fingers together. 

* * *

Jeremy fell asleep only fifteen minutes after takeoff, and Michael hadn’t moved his hand from his since. The plane ride had gone reasonably well, and getting through the airport and to a taxi was surprisingly easy. 

Jeremy was finally able to calm down after they landed at the airport, with the stress of the flight and getting in and out of the airport finally dissipating. Michael told the cab driver to drop them off in a little town near the house since they would be _ sleeping _ there, and it would seem a _ bit _ weird if the driver were to take two random boys from out of town to the infamous Sallie House. Plus, they had half the afternoon to spare, and he heard the farmers market nearby had great food and knick-knacks. 

** **

Michael watched as Jeremy stared out the window, slowly getting more and more excited about exploring a new town. Jeremy had always had a sense of adventure, therefore he loved traveling. Sure, he had anxiety when it came to flying, but it didn’t mean he immensely enjoyed stepping into a new place he’d never been to before any less. 

Grey clouds painted the sky and darkened the world around them, a cold chill making itself present in the atmosphere and a need to wear heavy sweaters and jackets made itself known in each of the townsfolk and visitors. Halloween and fall decorations littered the streets, mother nature leaving behind a scattering of orange, brown, and red leaves to give her own touch to the season. It almost looked like something out of a fairytale- something that made the world around them feel enchanted and light-hearted. Maybe it was the festive locals busying around and making their mark in the town, or maybe it was the trees turning to beautiful colors and habitating every corner they turned down, giving the town even more life than before, despite the fact that it was from the trees actually dying. 

The town gave a sense of new beginnings and memories of old lives. Ancient tales of family pasts murmured in the streets by townsfolk, welcoming their new neighbors to be apart of their small community by introducing them to tradition. 

Michael felt his heart warm in the small town. How a supposedly demon-haunted house had claimed its own spot in such a loving and light-hearted community was a mystery to him, but it only gave more character and stories to the community to tell and pass on for generations, whether you believe in the paranormal or not. 

Obviously, it was fake. A ploy to attract visitors and gain the local shops and businesses some attention, but of course, he would continue on his ‘ghost hunt’ and humor Jeremy. 

_ Jeremy. _ The boy sitting next to him who could change the mood in a room in 30 seconds flat. Who could go from being so anxious and stressed to wide-eyed and filled with wonder just by stepping foot into a taxi. How could he somehow be everything Michael could ask for, yet surpass even what he thought could make the perfect person?

How tonight, he will most likely start off as brave and then he’ll- well, _ Yeah. He definitely is gonna piss his pants tonight. _

Michael turned away with a smirk, and watched as they neared to a stop by a curve, the driver tapping something out on the screen and telling the boys what the fare amount was. 

After paying, the two thanked the driver and swung their backpacks over their backs, stretching and getting excited to eat because, now that they thought about it, they were actually pretty hungry. 

The farmers market was crowded from stall to stall, the excitement of stepping foot into new territory clearly taking over Jeremy as the boy bounced in place. Michael watched as he pranced around, trying to decide where to eat first. As discreetly as possible, Michael pulled out a camera to start filming Jeremy in all his excitement. _ Is this creepy? _ Michael took a few seconds until deciding that _ Nah. Def isn't creepy. He's just cute. _

If Michael could've made the mental version of ‘uwu’ just then, he would have. 

** **

Making their way through the food portion of the market (which, by the way, was surprisingly huge,) Jeremy and Michael found themselves in the area with the knick-knacks and homemade items. 

Jeremy had spotted a booth with beautiful wood carvings, and Michael followed as he noticed Jeremy found himself floating towards it. The booth contained tables completely _ covered _ from edge to edge with small wooden figures. From Tikis to Snowglobes— yes, wooden snowglobes— the owner seemed to have a bit of anything you could ever think of. 

Michael found himself attracted to a smaller carving- one that just about fit in the palm of his hand. When he wrapped his fingers around it, it sat snugly in his palm. The design of it was almost curving with his fingers— almost as if it was made specifically for him. Clearly, the attention Michael was giving to the trinket caught the shop owner's eye. 

The man made his way to Michael, his deep voice catching both Michael and Jeremy's attention. “I see you’re interested in the Guide,”

Michael snapped his head up, curious about what he had to say. “Guide?” Jeremy made his way over to Michael as well, standing next to him and listening to the shopkeep. 

“Hmm.” The man stared at them for a few moments before asking, “You two aren't from around here, are you?”

Well, that was unexpected. “Uh, no. We aren't.” 

“Thought so.” He moved his gaze to Jeremy. “Say, you wouldn't mind picking out a carving of your own, would you?”

“Uhhh, sure?” Jeremy took a step back to view the mini statues. 

“Whichever one calls out to you the most.” The man explained. 

Jeremy took a moment until his eyes landed on one more towards the left in the middle. Slowly to make sure he didn't knock any of the other carvings over, he lifted it. This, too, was small enough to fit in the palm of his hand. “This one?”

The man gave a small laugh, seemingly content. “Ah, so you are from out of town _ and _ still discovering each other.”

Discovering each other? _ The fuck does that mean? _ “Uh…?” Michael furrowed his eyebrows. This guy was _ weird. _

“The carving you picked up,” He pointed at Jeremy. “That is the ‘Lovers Totem.’ The one who chooses it has a reciprocated love interest.”

Jeremy blushed beet red, moving quickly to scratch at his head in embarrassment. The man chuckled as he watched Jeremy's nervousness. 

_ Ok, no. Now this is just uncomfortable. _“What's the one I chose? Why did you start talking to me because of it?” Michael looked down at the carving. 

“That is called The Guide. Spiritual Guide, to be more specific. It only appears in times of need and/or trouble that may be coming your way, acting as a protective shield to what could cause harm.” The shopkeeper's smile grew, his face emitting a warm expression, but his eyes holding a distrustful coldness.

Jeremy gasped. “Mike, maybe it was calling out to you for a reason! Maybe your guardian angel is watching out for you or something!” Jeremy poked him. 

Michael rolled his eyes. Sure, it was cool, but it was just more BS that acted as a ploy to get people to buy more merchandise. “Ok. Cool. Well, uh, I'm just gonna leave this here-“

“No, take it, please. I insist. It's on me.” The shopkeep backed up and sat back down in his chair. 

“No, we couldn't-“ Michael tried putting it down. 

“Please, you really can! No need to pay or anything.”

“Seriously, I couldn't do that-“ _ He really, really didn't want to. So no, he couldn't take it because it would be more junk in his room that he didn't need. _

“Just take it. You've already touched it and put your energy into it anyway.” He waved them off. 

“Mikey lets just take them! Plus, he's right; we already picked them out…” Jeremy studied the carving in his hand, a far off look in his eyes.

Michael rolled his eyes. “Fine. Let's just go.” He lowered his voice, leaning in towards Jeremy, “The guy is giving me the creeps anyway, man.”

Jeremy nodded with an understanding and stuffed his totem into his bag, Michael doing the same. They walked off with a thank you, and when Michael went to look back, the man was gone. 

* * *

Ah yes, scary, abandoned, and demon-infested houses. Jeremy’s favorite_. _ Micheal and Jeremy had found their way to the house by around 10 pm, the sky now as dark as can be and an ominous (and frankly scary and flickering) looking porch light being their only source of light. Definitely not one of Jeremy's preferred situations, seen as the fear was already setting in.

“You aren’t scared, are you?” A mischevious grin spread across Michael’s face, Jeremy knowing precisely what he was thinking.

“Scared..?” He smirked, putting on a false persona until, “Dude, OF COURSE I'M SCARED YOU FREAKING IDIOT THIS HOUSE IS INFESTED WITH A FUCKING DEMON!”

Michael burst into laughter, clearly not phased by the seriousness in the matter or the flickering porch light, which, _ whY IS IT STILL FLICKERING THIS ISN’T NORMAL. _ “Yeah, because a _ demon _ is gonna eat your soul.”

“Whatever, man.” Jeremy grumbled, going back to try and connect one of the cameras to a handheld tripod. He would’ve gotten it by now if the light didn’t keep turning on and off, but now frustration was just started to get the best of him. Trying to get the screw in but failing once again, he let out a groan. “Ugh! Stupid- Fucking- Ugh!”

“Hey, it's okay.” Michael slung his backpack over his shoulder and made his way to Jeremy, placing his hands over the other boys’. “Here, let me try.” He gently took the screw and camera from Jeremy’s hands, and in just a second, he had screwed the camera to the tripod with ease. “See? Perfect.”

Jeremy rolled his eyes. “Ok, well, sorry I can't be like you, Mister Perfect.”

“I'm not saying I’m perfect, Jerm.” Michael chuckled. “Are you alright? You’ve been acting a little… stressed? Like, since we drove to the airport.

Jeremy let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding and closed his eyes. “Yeah, sorry, I just…” He opened his eyes again. “Haven’t been feeling well lately is all.”

“You alright?”

“I think I might’ve caught a bug or something from work, but… ugh, I dunno. All I do know is that there was a McDonald’s up the street, and I’m seriously contemplating if we should just ditch the demons and snack there all night.” Jeremy played with the camera set-up in his hands.

“You don’t have a fever, do you?”

“No, or at least I don't think so. Just have been feeling congested and had one of those stupid headaches where like, it's barely there you still feel it, you know? I took some Advil earlier, so the headache is gone, but I still feel a little agitated, so…” Jeremy shrugged.

“Hm,” Michael chewed at his lip as he thought. A smile spread across his face. “You aren’t _ that _scared that it's taken a physical toll on your body, are you?”

“No. Micheal, seriously. It's super creepy now that we are here, yeah. And its definitely adding to the fact that I’ve felt sick for a bit, but, like, I'm fine.” Jeremy put his head into his hands and took a deep breath, finally moving to look back at Michael. “Ok, I'm ok. Let's do this thing, yeah?”

“That's my boy,” Michael teased, switching on his camera as Jeremy switched his on, and opened the screen door. A loud creaking noise echoed around them.

“Oh, Jesus- Fuck-” Jeremy backed away, the courage he had just built up immediately fleeing.

“Literally all they need is some WD40. It's fine.”

“Yeah, no, I know, I'm just-” He started retreating to the car, grabbing something from the passenger's side seat. “I'm just grabbing my holy water hold on-”

“They confiscated it at the airport, remember?” Michael called after Jeremy.

“_Shit _.”

Michael laughed and called Jeremy back over to him, adjusting the focus on his camera. “C’mon.”

Jeremy sighed, fishing for the key to the front door in his pocket. “Okey dokey here we go-” His voice wavered.

“_ Heere _ we go,” 

“Did you just emphasize ‘here’ to make it obvious you were trying to make a joke about my last name?”

“Possibly,”

“I hate you.” Jeremy finally twisted the key, letting the front door swing open and into the darkness that spilled out of the house.

Michael switched on his flashlight, getting a good view of where they were walking into. On the left sat a set of stairs, leading up to, at the moment, who knew where. A baby carriage sat dormant directly in front of the door, making Michael chuckle. “Really trying to sell it, huh?”

“Oh shush,” Jeremy hesitantly took a step into the home, an immediate chill running through his body.

“It’s definitely a nice house though, not gonna lie-”

Jeremy ignored Michael and started taking small steps into the home, turning left and into the living room. His knuckles stung from the cold air, his long-sleeve suddenly feeling too thin for the temperature. “Are you not cold?”

“Nah I’m fine. It's a little chilly but probably because this place has horrible ventilation.”

_ Yeah, ventilation. S u r e. _ Jeremy continued to lead their way through the house, eventually finding the kitchen where he put his stuff down on the table. 

“Definitely a nice little house,” He repeated. “Very homey.” Michael followed Jeremy, putting his backpack next to the other boys’.

“Yeah. Homey is _ one _word for it.” Jeremy grumbled. “Let’s just start explaining the background to this place, yeah?”

“Oh, no. Jeremy-” Michael’s voice held a twinge of fear.

Annoyed, Jeremy turned around. “What?”

“Don’t- don’t look over here. There’s a scary looking stuffed animal and I- Oh boy-”

“Bravo. Award-winning performance. Oscar winner Michael Mell, everyone.”

“You’re the one who planned on sleeping here, bro. Just trying to make our stay a little more comfortable.”

“Uh, you’re the one who agreed, remember? Also, did you just- did you just bro zone me?”

“Bro zone? Is that implying we were something more than just bros?” Michael questioned.

_Ouch,_ _that hurt. _Then again, Jeremy brought it upon himself, didn’t he? He was only joking around, but it still hurt a little to think about how they still weren’t anything more than ‘bros.’ Jeremy was dreading a response until someone was knocking at the front door.

Jeremy visibly tensed for a moment, unsure of what the knocking was coming from, until Michael said, “Relax, _ broseph, _” emphasizing ‘broseph,’ “It’s probably just Rich.”

“Oh,” He relaxed. “Right, he’s here.” Jeremy made his way towards the front door, explaining to the camera that they had called a paranormal investigator- Richard Goranski, or Rich for short.

Jeremy opened the front door, him and Michael introducing themselves, though Michael decided to add a little extra flair to his introduction. “Michael,” He introduced, “I think this is all bullshit, by the way.”

Jeremy rolled his eyes as Rich responded with, “Half of it ith.” He smiled, a lisp present. Michael shot his eyebrows up and gave Jeremy a smug grin, in response getting another eye-roll from Jeremy as he led the other two back to the kitchen table to reconvene. 

“We brought a little bit of stuff,” Jeremy presented the ghost hunting tools spread across the table. “Though I’m not talkin' to shit.”

“Dude, you realize you already have been?” Michael played with a little walkie-talkie looking device.

“What? How?” Jeremy snatched the device from Michael’s hands before he could break something, putting it back in its original spot on the table.

“Actually, I’d thay just willingly being here ith enough of an invitathon to let ghosthth ‘n thpirith talk to ya.” Rich smiled, tucking his phone into his jeans pocket. It was going to take a bit for Jeremy to get used to the lisp if he was honest.

“Let’s just get this party started,” Jeremy grumbled, walking over to the kitchen lights to flip the switch off. The room drowned in a silent darkness for a few moments before Michael shuffled to turn his flashlight on, handing another to Jeremy and placing a third on the kitchen counter.

The adrenaline finally started catching up to Jeremy, his stomach feeling like it had dropped to the floor the moment Michael placed the extra flashlight on the counter. He shuffled ever so slightly closer to Michael, wishing he could at least hold his hand or, or something to provide him comfort. He thought of the totem from earlier that was currently resting in his back pocket.

“Alrighty,” Rich started, raising his voice a tad to make it sound firmer. “Pleathe turn the light on for uth.”

Jeremy clutched the totem that now rested in his hand, loudly whispering “Please don't, please don't, please don't do it-”

“Demon?” Michael called.

“Don’t call it that.” Jeremy nudged Michael, the fist holding the flashlight immediately turning white as he started gripping it harder.

“Demon!” He retaliated.

“Stop it! Stop talking to it! You fucking idiot-” Jeremy worried his thumb on totem as Michael made his way over to the flashlight and crouched down next to it. 

“No, I just wanna talk to the demons!” Michael snorted, Rich laughing along.

_ Great, I’m in here with a pair of lunatics, _

“Listen here, Demons. I think you guys are absolutely…” Michael made hand gestures, thinking of a word to describe them with. “Swell, and I would really like to get to know you better.”

Rich smirked, speaking up again. “If you would like the guyth to thtay here, turn the light on.”

A few moments of dreadful silence and no action passed, Michael scooting ever closer to the flashlight. “If you _ don’t _ want us here, turn the light on.” 

“You’re fucking crazy, Michael.” Look, Jeremy liked Michael, ok? He didn’t want that beautiful soul of his to become possessed or corrupted by the paranormal, much less a demon! If that happened, then who else could end up becoming Jeremy’s possible boyfriend?! “Please don't turn on,” Jeremy clutched the totem again.

Low and behold, the flashlight fucking turned on, forcing yells of terror out of Jeremy as he squeezed the totem hard enough to break it, scared of taking any more steps closer into the kitchen. He ran behind the table, yelling at Michael to get his ass over there as Michael tried to catch his breath from laughing too hard.

“WhaT THE FUCK?” Jeremy paced behind the table, Michael and Rich still calming down from their giggle fit. “NO.”

“Come-” Michael wiped a tear away. “Come here-” He made his way behind the table as Jeremy sat down on a chair, terrified out of his fucking mind. Michael crouched down next to Jeremy and slid his hand into the other boy’s, attempting to calm him but still laughing his ass off. At some point in the chaos, the light had turned back off. “Ok, Ok. If you actually don’t like us,” Michael started again, making sure Jeremy was calm until standing up and continuing, making his way back over to the flashlight. A broad grin was still plastered across his face. “Please, just- just turn it on.”

Jeremy glanced between Michael and the flashlight with big eyes, flicking back and forth and silently praying that nothing would happen.

“I don’t think it has enough power to turn it back on if I’m being honest.” He crouched down in front of the light again, taunting whatever paranormal existence that was haunting the home. “I really think they don't-”

Jeremy interrupted Michael by a loud and sudden yell, the flashlight turning on and illuminating Michael’s face. “WHAT THE FUCK? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?” He rounded the table to get close to Michael, studying the flashlight on the counter with wide, curious yet horrified eyes.

“Keep in mind; we have to spend the night here.” Michael took Jeremy’s hand again, the both of them studying the flashlight.

“Pleath turn the light off for uth, thpirth.” Rich demanded, getting a little closer to the boys.

“Don’t you fucking dare.” Jeremy breathlessly told the flashlight. It flickered a little, dimming and then relighting.

“Turn it all the way off, thank you.” Rich said as the flashlight slowly dimmed until the last bit of life disappeared.

“Oh my god,” Jeremy's voice broke, hiding his face in the crook of Michael’s shoulder as soon as they got close enough to hug. “You should have never talked to it, dude.” The muffled noises of Jeremy talking to Rich could barely be heard, Michaels's hoodie cutting off most of the noise. “Nuh-uh, bros.” Jeremy shrugged out of Michael’s hold, making his way to the living room and trying to catch his breath. He sat down in the corner, eventually laying down and closing his eyes and panting heavily.

“Just- Just take a deep breath.” Michael reassured, “Everything’s fine, just breathe. Don’t hurt yourself.”

“It's fine, everything's fine, do not be afraid, it's fine, everything's fine, do not be afraid, it's fine-” Jeremy repeated the mantra as he caught his breath and Michael sat down in the chair above Jeremy, his feet practically cradling Jeremy’s head.

“C’mon, we don’t know how to explain that! Flashlights are just funny like that! It's circuitry ‘n shit!” Michael tried telling Jeremy, who as a response could only look up and glare back in denial. “You’re alright.” Jeremy shut his eyes again and nodded, trying to collect his sanity. “You need another minute?”

After a few moments, Jeremy opened his eyes again and responded with, “Nah. Nah, I- I think I’m good.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yeah.” He slowly sat back up, stretching his fingers and shaking out his arms.

“Bathement time?” Rich asked, helping Jeremy up.

“Oh god,” Michael and Jeremy responded, though Jeremy’s was out of fear and Michael’s was out of amusement.

** **

Once Jeremy had collected his thoughts and picked his camera equipment back up, the trio slowly made their way to the basement. A dimly lit, long and narrow staircase led them downwards. Paint was chipping off the walls as each step taken made the floor creak and squeal, Jeremy’s stomach disagreeing with the noises. Michael placed a hand on his shoulder from behind as an attempt to keep Jeremy grounded the further down they went.

At the bottom of the staircase, the room opened up, but only barely. A large burn mark was smudged onto the concrete floor, taking up most of the space. “There used to be this huge-ass pentagram right here,” Jeremy explained. “Apparently, some old tenants used to do rituals down here, summoning evil entities and powerful spirits.”

“And what about this?” Michael sauntered over to a giant hole in the brick wall, the size well large enough for both of the boys to fit through and looking as if someone had taken a sledgehammer to it.

“Apparently there's this thing called infestation, where a demon will just-” He made a weird sucking noise. “Take hold of the house.”

“The fuck was that noise?” Michael sniggered.

“Shut up.” Jeremy laughed, poking his camera and flashlight into the hole to get a better view of inside.

Rich made a scraping noise with a metal folding chair back in the central part of the basement, making Jeremy jump and hit the top of his head on the wall. “Ow,” He grumbled, rubbing the spot he hurt. Michael laughed and ruffled his hair, heading back to see what Rich was doing.

Rich placed the flashlight on the chair, working up his demanding voice again. “If you are in the hole, then in order to thpeak to uth you mutht turn that flathlight on.” An eerie silence followed, the only noises being of the house settling above them, which didn’t make the atmosphere any better than it already was.

“Please don't please don't please don't,” Jeremy found himself chanting again. Michael nudged his shoulder and squeezed his hand.

“My EMF ith thaying there ith a lot of energy coming off of thith room, but ith becauth of thith thing.” He nodded to a boiler in the corner. “Though high electrithity ith definitley thomething that thiprith like to feed off of..”

Jeremy squeezed Michael’s hand again, taking a deep breath. Michael clearly had other ideas in store, though. “If you want to eat my heart out, turn on the light.” He smiled.

“Michael, no!” Jeremy ripped his hand from Michael’s to grip his camera.

“I think this demon is a whimp!” Michael laughed.

“Oh my god, he’s lost his mind!”

Rich chuckled, watching the exchange in front of him. “You wanna lay on the pentagram?”

“Oh hell n-”

“OH HELL YES!” Michael cheered, skipping over to the pentagram and laying down on it. “Here we go!” He held up his arms, holding them open as if they were an invitation for the demons to come and possess him.

“You are out of your mind.” Jeremy sighed, finding a spot to sit in and watch the madness unfold before his eyes.

“If you wanna eat my heart, turn that light on. If you wanna eat Jeremy’s heart, then you should also turn the light on.” Michael smiled.

“Don't! Stop putting me in your shit!” Jeremy reached into his pocket to grab his totem again and hold it.

“Our pal, Jeremy Heere! He is very fond of all of you, ya know. We are a package deal!”

“Don't-”

Suddenly, the flashlight sitting on the chair turned on without any sign before hand, the warm light it was emitting adding extra light to the room.

“Oh! The lights on, Jeremy! Look!” Michael cheered, pointing at the light. Jeremy, in the meantime, felt his stomach literally fall through the floor and to the depths of hell.

“Jesus Christ, yeah, I- No shit, dumbass. I-” Jeremy ran his hand through his hair, finding himself speechless and shaking, and unable to stay still. Michael bounced up from where he was just laying down while Rich walked over to put a hand on Jeremy’s back to console him.

“Turn the light back off, pleath. For Jeremy’th thake.” And just like that, the light went out in a snap, making Michael laugh even harder, and Jeremy put his head in his hands.

“Fuck this house, dude.” Jeremy looked up, making a mad dash for the stairs. “Fuck this house so hard.”

Michael and Rich followed him upstairs, Michael still calling after Jeremy. 

** **

**\--1:00am--**

Thirty minutes after Rich had left and Michael and Jeremy had set up their sleeping bags in the living room, Jeremy stretched while standing over his soon-to-be sleeping spot, ready for a sleepless night. The two spent another thirty minutes cleaning up and putting everything in backpacks, working on some other projects on their computers (thank god Michael remembered to bring his portable hotspot), and Jeremy trying to save enough tissues to last throughout the night, but apparently the snot running down his nose refused to quit.

“That fact that we are even sleeping in this house after tonight is just-” Jeremy rubbed at his bright red nose with a tissue. “Astounding.”

“You know what? I'm proud of you, Jerm.” Michael said, kicking off his shoes and snuggling into his sleeping bag.

“Gee, thanks.” Jeremy sniffled.

“You alright?”

“Yeah, I’m just- I think the Advil has started to wear off. I'm not feeling too great again.”

“Here,” Michael reached into his bag and pulled out his water and two of the little teal pills to give to Jeremy.

“Thanks,” He downed the pills, nearly chugging half of Michael’s water. _ Since when was I this thirsty? _

“No problem,” Michael responded, putting his water back in its place and reaching up to turn the lamp off.

A cloak of darkness covered the room, immediately making Jeremy’s brain go haywire_. _Every shape and object only created a new monster for him to form or a figure that would, no pun intended, haunt him for the rest of the night. 

“You know what’s crazy to think about?” Michael finally broke the silence after a few minutes. 

“Hm?” Jeremy hummed. His throat was starting to become sore. _ I swear to god if I caught the flu or some shit at work or something- _

“The basement is directly below us.” Michael smiled, knowing full well that it would set Jeremy on nerve.

“Oh, fuck you.” Jeremy sighed. After thinking a moment, he said, “Fuck it, I'm getting closer to you I don't care. I’m terrified as fuck right now.”

“No problemo, Jerm. I welcome you with open arms.” Michael lifted his open sleeping bag up as an invitation for Jeremy to snuggle next to him, and boy did he take the offer. Jeremy easily abandoned his side of the living room to slide right into Michael’s arms, finding comfort in the position he was held in. “You know, I definitely think I will _ not _ sleep tonight, and I think you’re gonna be the reason why.” Michael poked Jeremy’s head, who just ignored him and tried to sleep.

And sleep he did not.

Every pin drop, every house creak, and every car passing by outside was just another reason for Jeremy to blatantly freak out and snuggle closer to Michael. After about five minutes, Jeremy said, “You know what, I’m man enough to admit that this is not happening tonight. Nope! This is not- no- I'm not- I’m over it!”

“Ok, man, look, its-” Michael laughed, “It’s ok.”

“Nope! Nopey-nope nope. Dude, I swear to god I just blacked out. No.” Jeremy sat up, trying to look for something to fiddle with. He settled with changing the camera’s battery that he held.

“What, are you giving up?” Michael rubbed Jeremy’s back from where he was laying down.

“Well- No, don’t put it like that.” Jeremy cleared his throat. _ Man, it’s starting to actually hurt… _

“It’s ok, you’re ok.” Michael sleepily laughed- it sounded like fatigue catching up to him. “C’mon, lay back down.”

“Micah-“

“Shh,” Michael lightly tugged at Jeremy shirt, sleep clearly starting to call for him. Jeremy obliged and layed back down, finding a comfortable spot in Michael’s arms again. 

** **

He wasn’t sure how long had passed, but it had to have been a long time since there was any movement between the two. Michael was dead asleep, but Jeremy was yet to get even a wink of any form of relaxation. The house settling noises and whispers in his ears were enough to keep his heart nearly pounding out of his chest, and every time he swallowed, his throat felt like it was screaming at him. A pounding headache was slowly forming, and if Jeremy didn't know he was sleeping in a demon-infested home, he would have said that he felt like hell. Though, he wouldn't be surprised if there was a portal _ to _hell somewhere in this house. Probably in that hole in the basement. That place definitely gave the most ‘let me suck you into hell for eternity’ vibes. 

Jeremy was just finding himself able to focus on Michael’s- and only Michael’s- breathing when he thought he saw a blur of white flash in front of him, disappearing around the corner and into the kitchen. Immediately, Jeremy’s heart started pounding out of his chest and he shot up, pressing his back against the couch.

The sudden movement woke Michael up, willing him to groggily ask, “what's wrong?”

“I- Th- It-“ Jeremy had started breathing heavily, clutching the sleeping bag. “Nope, I- I- Nuh-uh. I'm out of here. I'm gone. No way. _ No way. _” Jeremy got to work on shakily rolling up his sleeping bag and stuffing it into its bag, clipping it onto his backpack. Michael took the hint and shook himself out of his sleep, copying Jeremy. 

** **

* * *

Within three minutes, both boys had all of their shit together and were outside the house, Michael hiding the house keys back under the rock in the planter for the owners since Jeremy had been too shaky to lock the house again. 

“What happened back there? Are you alright?” Michael looked up at Jeremy, just finishing calling a Lyft. The time on his phone read ‘3:47’. 

“I, uh.” Jeremy gulped. It looked like he was clutching something wooden in his right hand. _ The totem, maybe? _ “I saw, uhm.” Clearly, it was taking a lot out of him to say what happened. 

“It's ok, you don't have to worry about telling me right now.”

** **

Soon, the Lyft had picked them up and driven them to McDonald's. Upon arrival, Jeremy gave a questioning look, but Michael explained, “You said you would rather be here at the beginning of the night, so…” He shrugged, taking Jeremy’s left hand in his own to try and provide comfort. “Plus, our flight isn't until ten, so we don’t have to be at the airport until eight. We have, like, four hours to kill.”

Jeremy nodded, the two of them making their way inside. The bright fluorescent lights nearly blinded them, a stark contrast to the darkness they had just been submerged in. The two ordered some food and found a table to sit down at, the few customers that claimed corners and employees working at the front giving them strange looks. To be fair, they _ did _look like they had just seen a ghost, which, Jeremy definitely just had. Though, he knew Michael would never admit that he did. Jeremy cleared his throat, the action hurting to do so. “Do you have anymore Advil or something?”

“More?” Michael asked.

“Mm,”

“I don’t think it's healthy for you to take more than two within a few hours, Jere.”

“Eugh,” Jeremy sighed, placing his head in his arms on the table.

“Hmm,” Michael thought out loud, “I’ll be right back. I'm just running next door to CVS, ok?” He patted the table, his footsteps halting before he continued to walk out the door.

** **

Jeremy lost track of time between when Michael had disappeared to when their order was called, but he slowly sat up, making his way to the counter to grab their food. Lifting his head hurt like hell, a migraine slowly starting to form. He just hoped that whatever Michael was doing, he could buy a pack of Benadryl or something. Jeremy had just sat down at their table again when Michael popped through the doors and trotted back to their table, somehow carrying way too much energy that he must have summoned out of nowhere.

“I present to thee,” Michael paused for dramatic effect, “NyQuil!”

“Fucking savior,” Jeremy made ‘gimmie’ hands at Michael, wishing he could just down the bottle.

“Nuh-uh! _ I’m _ pouring it. We don’t want to repeat last time’s NyQuil fiasco, do we?” Michael smirked, slowly unscrewing the cap.

“Don't-”

“_ But Michaellll,” _ Michael mimicked Jeremy from that horrid night, _ “I can pour it like a big boy! _ He said, then proceeding to take _ way too much _ and _ getting high off of fucking NyQuil _.” Michael rolled his eyes. “This shit can be dangerous, Jerm. I don’t trust you anymore.” He finally handed Jeremy the little cup he had poured.

“I’ll take what I can get,” Jeremy shrugged, clearly not enthused.

* * *

A nice McDonald’s meal, a bad decision to give Jeremy a little bit of extra NyQuil out of pity, and an hour later, Jeremy and Michael sat in the same spot they had previously been in, chatting quietly. It was amusing to watch a slightly-high-on-NyQuil-Jeremy struggle to stay awake, sputtering nonsense and using anything he could see in the room to start a conversation out of and then suddenly dozing off for five minutes only to wake up and do it all again.

Their current topic was on the day previous, and all of the crazy things they had experienced. “And that shopkeep guy!” Jeremy slightly slurred, sleep clearly trying to take him. Michael had no clue why he wouldn’t just give into sleep and take a quick nap.

“Yeah, that dude was freaky.” Michael agreed, “I tried to pull you outta there, but you persisted. How much you wanna bet those totem things are just regular carvings from, like, china or something.”

“I dunno, Mikey.” Jeremy shifted, pulling his totem out of his pocket. “I think they might be real.”

“Uhh, no.” Michael gave a soft laugh.

“Well, _ yours _ is real. Mine is just…” He studied the intricate carvings on the totem, the marks grabbing his attention and making gravity pull his soft, surprisingly brushed curls down and cover his face. 

Even though Michael couldn’t see Jeremy’s expression, the sight and feeling of Jeremy just being so close to him felt like flowers blooming in his chest. As if the sun had come out of hiding and silenced the moon, warming everything in sight. Michael could have stared at Jeremy all night if given the chance. “Yours is what, Jerm?”

“Mine is dumb.” He pouted, placing the little totem upright on the table.

“What, you don’t believe in true love?”

“I would if I knew he liked me back..” Jeremy rested his head back on his hands, clearly starting to get sleepy again.

“He?” Michael questioned.

“Oh, shush. You know I'm bi.” 

“Yeah, but I didn’t know if you liked anyone right now.” Michael leaned forward, a pang of hurt in his chest but still wanting to keep the conversation flowing. It would be rude just to end it because he had just found out that the boy he had admired for what felt like forever just admitted to liking someone else. _ Jeeze. This feels like high school all over again. _ “Who is it? Oh! Oliver from work?”

“No,” Jeremy’s demeanor seemed to drop.

“Give me a hint?” Michael hoped that maybe getting Jeremy to pick out the good things about the guy he liked would improve his mood, even if it hurt Michael’s heart.

He would do anything for Jeremy.

“Well,” Jeremy started. “He always seems to light up a room the moment he walks in. Like, like he could be the sun he’s so bright.”

“That’s a good factor,”

“And-” Jeremy yawned, sleep slowly dragging him into unconsiousness. “And he refuses to wear any _ other _color than his favorite.”

“What’s his favorite?” Michael questioned.

“Red,” Jeremy hummed, smiling from whatever he just thought about. “And even though I’m a constant mess, he always puts up with my bullshit, yet is always there for me when I need him most.”

Michael felt his heart skip a beat.

“But then I’ll be scared out of my mind, and he still goes out of his way to comfort me, even though he doesn’t think that half of our career is real.”

“He, uh,” Michael gulped. “He sounds real special, Jere.”

“That’s because he is,” Jeremy hummed, his voice getting quieter as he started to fall asleep. “I love you, Micheal.”

“I-” Michael glanced down at the small totem that lazily rested in Jeremy’s hands. “I love you too, Jere.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you guys want me to make a short/mini ch 2 of Michael jus takin care of a sick jerm, lemme know!  
Have a happy Halloween, whether you are staying in bed binging fics/movies or going out to trick or treat!


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